Electric fixture.



PATENTBD NOV. 10, 1903.V v

K. samen. ELECTRIC FIXTURE.v APLIOATION IILH)A JULY 12, 1902.

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N0.743,991. PATBNTED Nov. 1o, 1903.

K. SHAFFER. ELECTRIC FIXTURE. APPLICATION FILED JULY 12, 1902. No MODEL.2 snnnfrsl-snnn'r 2.

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UNITED STATESA Patented November 1o, 190s.

vPATENT OFFICE.

KENT sHArEER, or EvANsToN, ILLINOIS.

ELECTRIC FIXTURE.

SEECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 743,991, dated November10, 1903. 'Applikation site July 12, i902. serai No. 115,293. (No man.)

To @ZZ whom t may concern: f

Be it known thatI, KENT SHAFFER, a citizen of the United States,residingat Evanston, in the county of Cook and Stateof Illinois,have invented acertain new and useful Improvementin Electric Fixtures, of which thefollowing is a full, clear, concise, and exact description, referencebeing had t0 the accom panying drawings, forming a part ofthisspecication.

My invention relates to electric fixtures, and serves to provide animproved form of cluster or group connection for translatingdevices-such, for example, as incandescent electric lamps. lVherefixtures of the Edison type are employed, the sockets of a cluster orgroup are supported upon a bracket or rod xedly secured to the wall orceiling, it being impracticable to remove the cluster or group ofsockets without disarranging the entire lixture.

By means of my invention I am enabled to separably associate a group orcluster of sockets with a socket projecting from vthe wall or ceiling,thereby replacing those clusters of sockets that have proved so faultyin actual practice, because of their mechanical imperfections. Theinvention, moreover, permits a ready change in the character of theelectric ixtnre associated with the socket, as one form of `fixture maybe readily removed and another inserted in place thereof. In this wayone incandescent lamp may be employed in association with the ceiling orwall socket or any number within reasonable limits may be associatedwith such socket.

My invention in its preferred embodiment comprises a group or cluster ofsockets provided with two terminals common to all of the Figure l is aperspective view of the pre-` Vfperred embodiment of my invention,incandescent lamps vbeing shown in place Within the sockets of thestructure. Fig. 2 is a secand plug on line 2 2 of Fig. Fig. 3 is a Viewof the base of the plug constituting an element of the invention.

' Like parts are indicated by similar characters of reference throughoutthe diderent ligures.

Asupport a, made,preferably,of some suitableinsulating material, asporcelain, is common to the sockets b b and the plug c. I have shown buttwo sockets; but the number may be increased without departing from thespirit of the invention. This base portion et supports terminals,preferably in the form of screws d and e. The terminal CZ, for example,is broughtinto electrical connection with the threaded sleeve f of theplug c, while the terminal screw c is brought into electrical connectionwith the central plug-terminal g. The terminals fand g of the plug aredesigned for engagement, respectively, with the threadcd-sleeve h of awall or ceiling socket 1l and the central terminal k of the said wall orceiling socket. Theconnectionbetweentheterminals g and e is preferablycompleted through astem Z, a fuse m, and a plate n, while connectionsbetween the terminals d and f will be established witha front plate o, ascrew p, and a -plate q. The sockets are preferably provided With acommon means for separably attaching the same to the base a, the meansbeing preferably in the I'orm oi' a clip-flange or spring-clip rr,engaging corresponding recessed portions in the base. The clip frpreferably forms an integral part of a casing r, that is preferablymetal, which casing is bifurcated to provide two sleeves within whichshells of insulating material s, as rubber, may be` disposed, theseshells of insulating material being capped by top walls t, also made ofinsulating material, as porcelain. There is contained in each rubbersleeve s a threaded sleeve u, constituting a socket-terminal. Thereprojects into each sleeve-terminal u a central terminal o, that isdirectly supported by the cap-plate t. Conductors o connect the threadedterminal u, with the -terminals q, as illustrated, while the conductorsw connect the terminals fu with the tertional View through the axes ofthe sockets ICO minal e. Sciews x, passing through the capplates t,serve to connect the .conductors 1 2 With the threaded sleeve-terminalsu, While screws y correspondingly effect connection of the conductors zuWith the terminals fu.. The terminals ot' the sockets are thus connectedin parallel with the terminals of the common plug, while protection islent to the composite structure by means of the single fuse m. Theorganization thus described is adapted to supply current toa pluralityof translating devices, as/the lamps z z, from a common Wall or ceilingsocket, as t'. These lamps are provided with terminal plugs. Plugs forconducting supply-current to translating devices other than lamps mayobviously be inserted Within the same sockets.

It is obvious that changes may be made in the device of my inventionshown Without departing from the spirit of the invention, and I do not,therefore, Wish to be limited to the precise structure set forth; but,

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent- In an electric fixture, the combination with a plug,having one terminal in the form of a threaded sleeveand a second centralterminal, of a plurality of sockets, each provided with a terminal iuthe form of a threaded sleeve and a second central terminal, the saidplug and sockets being mechanically united, two terminals common to theterminals of the plug and to the terminals of the sockets, conductorsconnecting the terminals of the sockets in parallel, and a baseinterposed between the plug and the sockets carrying the said twoterminals, substantially as described.

ln Witness whereof I hereunto subscribe my name this 1st day of July, A.D. 1902.

KENT SHAFFER. Witnesses:

GEORGE LQCRAGG, HARVEY L. HANsoN.

